NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Leader Sei Young Kim tees off at 8:49 a.m. on Sunday at the KPMG PGA Championship alongside Brooke Henderson and Anna Nordqvist. It’s an exceptionally early tee time for any professional tournament, never mind a major. But that’s not even the strangest part.
Six groups will actually tee off after Kim, with three going off behind her on the front nine and three more off the back nine. The unusual set up is due to a network television window that ends at 2 p.m. ET, ahead of NASCAR on NBC.
“It’s definitely going to be kind of weird,” said Nordqvist, “but I feel like all year we’ve kind of had the horseshoe early starts for the final rounds because of daylight.”
SCORES: KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Kim, a 10-time winner on the LPGA seeking her first LPGA title, leads the tournament by two shots at 7-under 203. All three players in the 9 a.m. group that follow her are 11 over for the tournament. Of those teeing off after the leaders, 8 over is the closest score to Kim.
Seven-time major winner Inbee Park tees off at 8:38 a.m. She’s three back of Kim and in search of a fourth Women’s PGA title.
“I’m not really a morning person,” said Park, “so it’s just always really hard to get up in the morning … probably not going to get a lot of sleep.”
World Golf Hall of Famer Laura Davies is in the last group off No. 1 at 9:22 a.m. Earlier in the week, Davies recalled winning the Evian Masters on the ninth green, which is a shuttle ride from the clubhouse.
“It’s happened before, and it’s definitely not ideal,” said Davies. “I’m not sure how that’s going to work out if someone makes a run and they’re finishing on the ninth.”
The ninth and 18th greens sit beside each other at Aronimink Golf Club. It would have to be a monumental run for someone to win it on the ninth, given that the players with the best score teeing off the back nine are at 4 over, 11 shots back of Kim.
It’s looking like play will continue on long after a champion has been decided.
Tee times
| Tee time | Players |
| 7:10 a.m. | Jennifer Chang. Jennifer Song, Jasmine Suwannapura |
| 7:15 a.m. | Cydney Clanton, Isi Gabsa, Matilda Castren |
| 7:21 a.m. | Amy Yang, Yealimi Noh, Eun-Hee Ji |
| 7:26 a.m. | Stacy Lewis, Madelene Sagstrom, Sophia Popov |
| 7:32 a.m. | Ashleigh Buhai, Lydia Ko, Lauren Stephenson |
| 7:37 a.m. | Mel Reid, Lexi Thompson, Angel Yin |
| 7:43 a.m. | Jeong Eun Lee, Moriya Jutanugarn, Ally McDonald |
| 7:48 a.m. | Amy Olson, Pernilla Lindberg, Cheyenne Knight |
| 7:54 a.m. | Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Sung Hyun Park, Brittany Lincicome |
| 7:59 a.m. | Yui Kawamoto, Celine Boutier, Ariya Jutanugarn |
| 8:05 a.m. | Danielle Kang, Kelly Tan, In Gee Chun |
| 8:10 a.m. | Jenny Shin, Perrine Delacour, Angela Stanford |
| 8:16 a.m. | Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Charley Hull, Nasa Hataoka |
| 8:21 a.m. | Jessica Korda, Pornanong Phatlum, Alena Sharp |
| 8:27 a.m. | Carlota Ciganda, Gaby Lopez, Jennifer Kupcho |
| 8:32 a.m. | Cristie Kerr, Hannah Green, Anne van Dam |
| 8:38 a.m. | Inbee Park, Bianca Pagdanganan, Mina Harigae |
| 8:43 a.m. | Georgia Hall, Leona Maguire, Robynn Ree |
| 8:49 a.m. | Anna Nordqvist, Sei Young Kim, Brooke Henderson |
| 8:54 a.m. | Hee Young Park, Haeji Kang, Elizabeth Szokol |
| 9 a.m. | Minjee Lee, Hinako Shibuno, Patty Tavatanakit |
| 9:05 a.m. | Mariah Stackhouse, Haru Nomura, Chella Choi |
| 9:11 a.m. | Katherine Kirk, Austin Ernst, Alison Lee |
| 9:16 a.m. | Linnea Strom, Sarah Schmelzel, Maria Fassi |
| 9:22 a.m. | Xiyu Lin, Lindy Duncan, Laura Davies |
[jwplayer 7NBaZ2A0-vgFm21H3]
[lawrence-related id=778069616,778069606,778069588]